Org works with City Island to track fl ooding
BY JASON COHEN
As sea level rises around
NYC, tidal fl ooding in
coastal neighborhoods like
City Island and Pelham Bay
Park is becoming an increasing
concern.
In mid-September, Katie
Graziano, a project scientist
of the Community Flood
Watch Project, which is part
of the Science and Resilience
Instie at Jamaica Bay-New
York Sea Grant, spoke at the
City Island Rising Inc., meeting,
a nonprofi t working to
improve the City Island community,
about the work her
organization is doing and
hopes to do for City Island,
which sits along the Long Island
Sound.
The project, which has
partnered with Rising, uses
citizen science to report
fl ooding events in the Jamaica
Bay watershed. With
photographs and reports collected
by community members,
researchers can visualize
how high tides might look
in the future due to sea level
rise, as well as improve the
science and computer models
of fl ooding. As fl ooding
often occurs on Shore Road,
Park Drive, Orchard Beach
Road and City Island Road,
Graziano said it is important
for residents to be active
and participate in the
project. She added that high
tide fl ooding can happen on
a sunny day and impact infrastructure,
public health,
safety and more.
“The purpose of the meeting
was to share with all of
the residents what we do at
Flood Watch,” Graziano told
the Bronx Times. “I think
it’s important to know that
rising sea levels and coastal
fl ooding are going to become
more frequent and that communities
will now help us become
more prepared for the
future.”
According to the New
York Sea Grant, the national
annual frequency of hightide
fl ooding reached fi ve
days in 2018, tying a historic
record set in 2015. By 2030,
however, long-term projections
show a national frequency
of 7-14 days of hightide
fl ooding.
Graziano told the Bronx
Times that the hope is that
citizen documentation of
fl ooding will help scientists
determine which areas are
more prone to it. She said due
to recent data, Flood Watch
now knows fl ooding on Ditmars
ATTENTION JOURNALISM STUDENTS
ARE YOU A COLLEGE STUDENT?
DO YOU KNOW A COLLEGE STUDENT WHO WANTS TO EARN $2,600 THIS SUMMER?
Paid Summer Internship Positions Available
The New York Press Association Foundation is sponsoring a
paid summer internship at this newspaper for a qualified journalism student.
Any student currently enrolled in a recognized journalism program is eligible to compete for an internship with a
net $2,600 stipend provided by NYPA. Applicants must attend college during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Don’t delay! Application deadline is March 1, 2022.
www.nynewspapers.com
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 40 EC. 17-23, 2021 BTR
Street on City Island is
caused by high tide. In October
the street fl ooded due to a
higher-than-usual high tide,
with water levels reaching 3
feet above average rises.
Based on sea level rise
projections from the NYC
Panel on Climate Change,
such a level of fl ooding will
be a normal daily occurrence
beginning in the 2050s-2080s.
John Doyle, president
of City Island Rising Inc.,
said this isn’t just a City Island
problem, but also affects
Throggs Neck, Silver
Beach, Pelham Bay Park,
Edgewater Park and areas
in Queens. Doyle wonders
when money will be directed
to help coastal communities
in the Bronx.
“The point is people are
seeing these storms and wondering
what’s being done?”
he said.
For information on the
project go to https://www.
srijb.org/jbf loodwatch/
or email Katie Graziano
kag247@cornell.edu. Flooding at the end of Ditmars Street on City Island. Photo courtesy John Doyle
Opportunity is Knockin’!
PA New York Press Association
F O U N DAT I O N
Application forms available online at:
click on NYPA click on Internships
/www.nynewspapers.com
/www
link
/www.nynewspapers.com
/www
/jbf
link